"I was introduced to Finnish noise-rock quartet, Throat, thanks to the sadly defunct Aversion Online website. A few samples of their cutely titled Pee 7" were all it took to tell me that these torch brandishing, audio arsonists were a band to watch. 4 record labels from 4 different countries have come together to put out the band's debut LP, Manhole, which should illustrate the international appeal of the unit. If names and descriptors such as abrasive, insane, blown-out, sludge, Albini, Am-Rep, Wantage, and Super Fi Records resonate with you, there will be a lot of highlights for your ears to discover across Manhole's 9 directly incisive cuts.
While the term "noise-rock" often chases sensitive constitutions over the tip of Mt. Everest, it should be noted that Throat displays frequent musicality and groove amongst the fragmented shrapnel of high-end, twin guitars, roving bass lines, and caustic, punk-leaned percussion. "Gift Gas" sets off the record with twang-y, kinetic riffs welded to an underlying 2nd guitar noise-melody while the syncopated snares and cymbals often insert tricky rolls into the bassist's warm bed of punk-rock vitriol. The vocals are shouted, spoken and screamed but with a certain amount of decipherability and a lot of passion removing their performance from the pantheon of faceless screechers in the extreme underground. They aren't afraid to slip in some winding, expressive leads into the guitar work as well, which instantly reminds me of the caustic transcendentalism of Chris Spencer and Steve Austin, respectively.
While their songs come off as original in their own right, they bend plenty of "classic" rules from the noise-rock textbook to their advantage; the clean, limber low-end and carefully measured beats of "Asbestos'" introduction build a hypnotic repetition that turns into a white wash of abusive, rhythmic grinding and waste n' paste noise/sludge riffing set to a doom tempo that's smattered with feedback driven, stoned-out, hardcore grooves. Keep a close watch on the backing guitar, as it appears to be soloing in an almost 70s rock style beneath the fetid lead squelch. The band rams all of their Pythagorean guitar licks and rhythmic trigonometry into a decidedly old school punk template as interpreted by Hammerhead and early Today is the Day on the breakneck "Katoye," a definite contender for one of the nastiest and well, noisiest noise-rock tracks I've heard in a long ass time; distinctive for its twin vocal attack and the dueling guitars' parkway pile-up of traditional Am-Rep riffs, crusty speed thrills, sparsely chorded drones, and sheer, kill everything within eyesight fury. There's also a peak, climactic moment where the drumming careens into a never-ending snare fill while the bass suffocates the ascending 6-string screams with a smooth tone and maximum density. These guys know exactly how to pull this shit off; tonally, the band's sound is the perfect balance of fluid, economical rhythm playing/production with nasty high-range spunk finding its path down to a mid-range wallop.
Throat falls into a sinkhole of bad mood blues on the riff-centric, compost heap rock of "Holey" which shows why they are the kind of lunatics that can survive on a split pairing with unholy hate-mongers and fellow countrymen Fleshpress. Forget the bells and whistles...just sit back and let them hurdle bastardized booze grooves like an Olympic runner let loose on an obstacle course spiced up with landmines. Feral lead guitar is strewn behind every corner, the intoxicating debris' stench a practical welcome home for anyone that cottoned to that last pair of Unsane masterpieces. Jarring stop/start timings permeate the hazy hard rock catchiness of "Soft White Walls" which sounds like Akimbo's best stuff at double the wattage. A lingering, doom blasted low-end trauma and steadfast, tom drum anchoring halts the pacing to a sludgy crawl, lending the guitars an appropriate space to paint haggard, heavily weathered metal harmonies atop the bottom dragging brutality.
I could go on and on with this review, but I'll let you discover the other tracks and their many merits on your own. It's a great fucking record with wasted notes few and far between. The only misstep I can point out is the 15+ minutes of tacked on static noise added to the end of the otherwise awesome closer, "Bad Heat." Thankfully, it appears long after the good stuff is over and is easily skipped on my promo copy. Those that purchase the vinyl copy are dealing with a whole 'nother can of worms. Yet, it's a small blemish to Manhole's undeniable impact on the listener as a whole. Noise-rock's not dead, Throat is proof positive that there are still newer bands doing this assault n' battery artform proper justice! I'll turn into a sticker here and make it easy; for fans of Unsane, Today is the Day, Hammerhead, Cherubs, Players' Club, The Cows, The Pope, Craw, The Jesus Lizard, Big Black, 16, and Tractor."
Jay Snyder, Hellride Music
http://www.hellridemusicforums.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=26851
